Leads are expensive.
In 2017, the average cost-per-click for the term “lawyer” was $54.86, making it the fourth-most expensive keyword on Google.
Aside from the cost, generating qualified leads isn’t exactly easy. To start, you need:
- A well-designed website that compels your visitors to call.
- A plan to promote your firm as a brand so it’s easier to find in online search.
- An intelligent paid advertising strategy that brings you high-quality calls at the lowest cost.
So, the last thing you want to do is let leads from your digital advertising campaigns go to waste.
But that’s exactly what happens when a potential client gets your voicemail.
Unfortunately, 35% of calls from prospects go unanswered—and when that happens, those clients move on to another immigration attorney.
If you want to attract more qualified prospects and give your firm the best chance to convert those leads into new clients, you have to create a lead management process that works.
Here’s how to manage your leads the right way…
1. Start using live chat
About 20% of your potential clients will try to contact you after your office has closed for the day.
Which means you could be losing up to a fifth of your potential revenue.
To put it another way, if you can capture the prospects you’re losing in your off-hours, it could mean a 20% increase in your revenue.
So what’s the solution?
Live chat.
Live chat is a messaging feature on your website that allows your visitors to message a representative of your firm.
With live chat, your prospects get to talk to a real person.
Not a chatbot spewing out answers from a list of automated responses, but a remote customer service agent trained to respond on your firm’s behalf, qualify your leads, and set up appointments with the ones who meet your client standards.
The biggest benefit of live chat—aside from a dramatic reduction in wasted leads—is the time it gives back to you, the attorney.
Many attorneys who are unsatisfied with the idea of missing calls after hours will keep their work phone on them at all times—and this habit, unfortunately, has the side effect of ensuring you’re never fully present in your life even when you’re off the clock.
With live chat, instead of keeping your phone glued to your hip and having to step away from your family or friends whenever you get a call, you have a system in place to ensure you aren’t losing hard-earned leads (or your personal time) when you get a call after-hours.
2. Shorten your response time
If a prospect calls your firm and gets your voicemail, they aren’t going to wait long before moving on to another attorney.
Which means you need to get back to them as soon as possible.
In your voicemail, set clear expectations of when the potential client will hear back from you.
For example, your voicemail message should provide an accurate response time:
“Hello, this is [name] of [law firm]. I’m either out of the office or in a meeting with another client. However, I or one of my representatives will reach out to you within 15 minutes to answer any and all questions regarding your legal matter. Thank you for calling..”
Next, you will need to follow through with the timeframe you set. Because 50% of consumers will choose the first service provider to respond, it’s critical to get back to callers as quickly as possible.
Here are a few facts to remember:
- 47% of your competition is failing to respond at all.
- The median response time among firms is 3 hours and 8 minutes.
- You’re 21x more likely to turn a lead into a new client if the lead is contacted within the first 5 minutes.
By responding to every call with an equal sense of urgency, you’ll not only improve your customer service, but you’ll retain more clients in the process.
3. Follow up. Follow up. Follow up.
Imagine this scenario:
You just had a great conversation with a potential client, but they still wanted to talk to other immigration attorneys before reaching a decision. You tell them you understand completely and hope to hear from them.
Now, what?
You call them in a few days.
If they don’t pick up, you leave a voicemail.
And if they never return the call, you follow up with emails over the next few weeks until you get a response—or have reached out 3-5 times. While you may think the prospect isn’t interested, they may just be too busy to get back to you right away, or they may just need a little more convincing.
If you don’t hear back after 3-5 attempts, give your prospects a send-off email letting them know you will no longer be reaching out. You’ll be surprised how often you’ll get a response when your prospect feels they’re being dumped.
4. Create a good intake form
An intake form is a document that helps you collect client information. With the right questions, the form can also help you qualify your prospects and determine if they’re a good fit for your time and skills.
When you get a prospect on the phone, get as much relevant information as you can.
As a baseline, this information will include the prospect’s:
- Name
- Phone Number
- Email address
- Relevant details of their case
- How they heard about your firm
The better your intake information is, the easier it will be for your firm to identify which leads are the best fit for your firm and worth pursuing, which saves you and your team both time and energy.
5. Leverage a good reporting and analytics system
How many leads are you generating from your digital ad campaigns?
And how many of these are high-quality leads versus low-quality leads?
These are the types of questions that are answered by a good digital marketing reporting and analytics system (like the one shown below).
Unfortunately, more than 25% of law firms are not tracking their leads at all.
A good reporting and analytics system allows you to track and organize your leads, as well as other aspects of your digital presence.
With a system like this, you can track:
- Lead quality and volume.
- Traffic source and volume.
- Page ranking authority.
- Online reviews.
- Etc.
With the right system, you’ll gain greater insight into the efficacy of your marketing, where to focus your efforts to attract the best leads, as well as an up-to-the-minute breakdown of your online presence.
Final Thoughts
Case leads are among the most expensive leads to attract—so, don’t let the ones you get fall to the wayside. If you want to improve your lead management, start at the beginning by fine-tuning each point of contact from web visitor to client.
Implementing small changes like these don’t require a ton of effort, but they can increase your annual revenue, so it’s best to get started sooner rather than later.
Want to learn more about improving your lead management process?
Call (866) 344-8852 or message us here for more information.
